Nothing But the Truth
by ColorLikeWhoa
Summary: Danny's parents invent a lie-detector and ask him to test it out for them. Will Maddie figure something out? As regular cliches tend to go, things do not bode well for Danny. Chapter 6 is up!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: …Hey! …Um, so, I'm not dead... Don't kill me for being gone for like, a year? **

**What I was doing this whole time? Oh, you know, wibbley wobbly, timey wimey.. Stuff. (Points if you get the reference :D)**

**Excuses:**

**- I started freshman year, and the amount of homework is unbelievable. (And I'm lazy.) HONORS ENGLISH AND HONORS PHYSICS ARE KILLING ME.**

**- I'm learning the guitar, and, I don't mean to brag, but I'm really good at it ;D **

**- I'm out of excuses... So… **

**On to the story!**

* * *

><p>He gritted his teeth, planting both his feet firmly on the carpet. He thrust one hand upwards, as if summoning dark forces, and let out an unearthly wail.<p>

Danny, who was currently in his bedroom, sprinted downstairs and skidded to a halt next to Jazz, who was crouching near the living room.

Flinching at the sound, he turned to Jazz, his eyes watering and his hands squeezing his ears. "What is that?"

Jazz grimaced, covering her ears as well. "Dad's singing."

A flash of light and ear-shattering feedback emitted from the living room.

Jazz and Danny rushed in to find their dad, in his regular day-glow orange hazmat suit and holding a microphone.

"Darn karaoke machine's broken," he grumbled. "It gave me a 0%... Again!" He frowned. "I'm going to go work on the Ghost-Translator." He stomped off, taking the microphone with him.

Danny's blue eyes watched him leave and then turned to Jazz. "Ghost-Translator? Ghosts speak English. What does he need that for?"

Jazz shrugged. "Ask Mom." She picked up her ubiquitous psychology book and went upstairs.

Danny sighed and slumped on the couch. After all, it was a regular Saturday. He deserved to relax, especially after fighting ghosts and going to school all week.

"Danny, honey, can you come downstairs?" Mom's voice drifted from their basement.

He sighed once more, heaved himself up and walked downstairs.

Once in the lab, he was greeted by a very strange contraption. It was brown- or possibly green and extremely rusty- and looked like a lunchbox with millions of buttons on top of it. Attached to it was a computer monitor, which displayed a bunch of lines, like heart monitors do.

Both of his parents were leaning over it, studying the screen intently.

"What.. is going on?"

"Danny boy! Come here and check out the Ghost-Translator!" Dad thrust his hands out in a "ta-da!" motion.

Danny stared at him, bored already. "And?"

"And," his mom replied, "we need you to try it out."

Danny stiffened suddenly. "You know what? I just remembered I have some.. studying to do! Big test coming up and stuff so.. I'll just get out of your way-"

"Nonsense, Danny! Come help your parents!" Dad reached out and dragged Danny to the translator, making him sit in a chair next to it. He handed Danny a microphone.

His mom pressed a few buttons on the Ghost-Translator. "Now, honey," she explained. "We'll just ask you a few questions and if you lie, the computer will tell us! Exciting, right!"

Danny eyes nearly popped out of his head at the words "if you lie". It was a lie detector? He lied to his parents basically every time he saw them! He was screwed, as usual.

"Wait!" he protested. Carefully pointing the mic away from him, he continued. "I'm not a ghost, why do you need me?"

"Just to make sure it works before we test it on the field!" Mom answered. She held up a clipboard. "Now, first question: What is your name?"

Danny took a deep, calming breath, but starting tapping his foot nervously. "Danny Fenton."

The computer showed a straight green line.

"How old are you?"

"Fourteen."

"Where do you go to school?"

"Casper High."

"Do you like your father's singing?"

Danny fidgeted in his seat, the tapping intensifying. "Do I have to?"

The computer's green line wavered slightly.

"Yes!"

"…Kind of?"

The line turned red.

"Is he a good singer?"

"Yes?"

The line dropped down lower, still red.

"What? Why didn't anyone tell me?" Dad frowned, glowering at Danny.

Danny grinned apologetically.

Mom resumed her testing. "Are you a ghost?"

Silence lingered for a little too long.

"_What_?" Danny's voice ripped up through a few octaves. He chuckled nervously. "What- What kind of a question is that?"

The line went back to green, but it was steadily lowering as Danny stumbled around for an answer.

Danny was spiralling. He couldn't tell the truth, how could he? Finally, it struck him. He'll just beat the system!

"Well.. I can't not deny that I may or may not probably be a ghost... I mean, on a scale from -124 to 3,787, it would definitely be a zero… or 42. What I mean is-"

"Danny," his mom sighed. "Just answer the question!"

"Pass?"

"Danny. Yes or no?"

Okay. Deep breaths, he told himself. "No."

The line turned bright red again, and Mom frowned. "Whats wrong with the machine?"

"Yep, that's right, must be a malfunction, beacsue I'm definitely not a ghost! Nope, no ghost here! Yeah, well... Good talk, 'kay, bye!" Danny bolted up the stairs, all the way up to his room.

He flopped on his bed, and exhaled, relieved.

Disaster averted, he smiled up at the ceiling, just laying down for a few minutes. The sun shone through his open window like a halo of goodness and a warm breeze trickled in. Danny closed his eyes, enjoying the weather.

Then, he jump up and leaped out of the open window, changing halfway through his jump. He soared through the air, carefree and joyous.

Unfortunately, he failed to notice his mom, staring at him as he looped around the fluffy, white clouds. Her usual look of distaste towards him was evident, but a hint of curiousity was in her purple eyes. She glanced down at the lie-detector, which she'd just finished fixing, and then back at him.

* * *

><p><strong>Uh oh! What's Danny's mom planning? The world may never know... <strong>

**OH, and that tapping foot thing Danny does? I do that ALL THE TIME. My mom gets so mad at me, but its not my fault! I'm not even nervous or anything... its like I have ADHD. Once she said I was shaking my foot at night O.o **


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Yes, I have finally updated. Read and review? Okay, how about this: If you read this A/N, review with the word, CHEESE!**

* * *

><p>The Ghost-Translator was broken. It had to be, Maddie reasoned.<p>

How else would it claim that Danny was a ghost?

After reaching this irrefutable conclusion, Maddie diligently proceeded to fix the malfunctioning device. She reset the whole thing, and even added a recording device for good measure.

Finally, it was ready.

* * *

><p>Danny loved flying.<p>

Gliding through the crisp, spring air at speeds that even his dad couldn't reach in his wildest dreams, Danny felt calmer than ever.

He skidded to halt about two feet above a tree, and gently lowered himself on a tree branch. He was at the park; the place got emptier and emptier as time went on and the internet got better.

Danny laid down, resting his head on the trunk.

Out of all the cool powers he'd gained, flying was, hands down, his ultimate favorite.

He couldn't decide whether it was because of the wind blowing through his hair and the absolute thrill and excitement of it, or because it was a great outlet when things got frustrating or stressful.

And things had definitely gotten tense back in the lab.

"I can't slip up again," he berated himself.

"Slip on what?" a very, _very_ farmilar voice asked from under him.

Danny froze, trying not to panic. Or at least, to show his panic.

He turned, and looked down to find his mother, holding the Ghost-Translator with one hand and pointing an ecto-gun at him with the other.

Danny couldn't take his eyes off the lie-detector, but he forced himself to. "S-slip on that… um.. banana peel! Haha, I am such a klutz." Danny attempted a grin, which was met with a cold frown.

Also, the Ghost-Translator, which displayed a red line as red as Danny's face.

"You're lying, ghost," she said, calm and controlled.

Danny grin slid off his face. He knew that tone- that was the "Stop-lying-or-I'll-ground-you-for-all-eternity" look.

Or, in his case, "Stop-lying-or-I'll-blast-you-into-smithereens".

"I just want answers, Phantom. Can you come down and talk like a _civilized_ person?"

_Says the lady with the gun, _Danny thought. He looked pointedly at it, until she lowered it hesitantly.

When the ominous gun was out of sight, Danny visibly relaxed, floating down from his spot on the brance. His boots touched the grass about three feet away from his mom.

"So," he said with in a forced tone of nonchalance. "What's up?"

"Can I ask you a few questions?" Maddie asked, although it sounded more like a demand.

Danny hated this side of his mom: ruthless and unforgivable; one rarely seen by her family (with the exception of him).

"Sure, but whats that?" Danny asked, faking an oblivious tone.

"A lie detector. Now will you answer my questions?"

Danny pondered the ramifications.

"How do I know it isn't just a trick to capture me and rip me apart 'molecule by molecule'?"

"The Ghost-Translator works on humans too. I'm not lying."

Danny checked the screen- all green. It was safe, for now.

"Fine," he said curtly.

"One: What is your real name?"

"Danny Phantom." _Please work!_ he begged._ That is my name- in this form!_

"True," Maddie said, checking the Ghost-Translator.

"How old are you?"

Danny frowned. "Like, when I died?"

"Yes."

"Fifteen."

Though the line had wavered when he'd said "died", it stayed green, to Danny's relief.

"Do you consider yourself this town's hero?"

"Yes."

Maddie scoffed.

"Why? You don't agree?"

Maddie shook her head. "Obviously."

"Why?" Danny kept a careful eye on the lie-detector as Maddie launched into one of her "ghosts are evil" speeches.

He needed to know how the thing worked; whether it claimed anything that the person _thinks_is true as true, or what is universally true instead.

The line stayed green throughout her rant, and Danny smiled inwardly. He knew what to do: he had to _believe_ he was telling the truth, and so would the machine.

"You're wrong," Danny interrupted his mom. "I am _not_ evil. I'm sorry for any trouble I've caused. I didn't capture the mayor; I didn't steal any of that gold. You have to believe me, just look at the machine, Mo-" he broke off, but hastily added, "Maddie. You have to believe me!"

_Please don't notice_, he prayed.

His mom pursed her lips, and silently gazed at him. Then, she walked off without any warning.

"Weird," Danny muttered. "But at least she's gone!" With that, he took off into the air once again, deciding to go meet Sam and Tucker.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Although I have three quizzes tomorrow, I have decided to update.**

**SO CAN I HAZ REVIEW?**

* * *

><p>The bright, blinding sunlight invaded Danny's somnolent eyes, forcing him awake. He glanced up drowsily- only to find a great big shadow looming over his face.<p>

"AHHH!" He had half a mind to yell, 'GHOST!' like his dad, but realized who it was in an instant. "Mom?"

His mom shifted back, and his tired eyes focused in on her regular blue hazmat and goggles.

"Mom, what time is it?" Danny rubbed his eyes, blinking a few times.

"It's 11, sweetie."

"In the _morning_? On a Saturday!" Danny glared at her, but suddenly caught a glimpse of what she was trying (vainly) to hide behind her back.

"Is that the lie detector?" he asked suspiciously.

His mom brought it out into view. "I need you to come into the lab and analyze a sound recording of Phantom with me! Won't it be _exciting_?"

_What? No thanks,_ Danny thought. _I don't need to analyze myself. Jazz has already done enough of that._

"What about Jazz?" Danny grumbled. "Or Dad? Why don't you ask them?"

"In the library and sleeping, respectively."

Danny groaned. "I have plans today!" he lied, a split second later remembering what his mother was holding.

"You're lying, Danny. Now, come on! I'll make you some toast for breakfast."

"Threatening me won't make me agree with you."

"Pancakes, then? With chocolate chips?"

"Bribery works." And with that, he leaped out of bed, tasting both bitter defeat and sweet, sweet chocolate.

* * *

><p>"So, your mom asked you to listen to yourself talking to her and analyze it?" Tucker asked, chuckling slightly. He picked up his Jumbo-Jumbo Nasty Burger and took a large bite.<p>

Danny just grumbled, further slouching in his seat.

Sam patted him on the back. "Don't worry, Danny. She won't figure it out!"

The three of them were at the Nasty Burger, where most teens took refuge from their parents.

"Yeah, maybe," Danny replied. "But it was so weird! She kept picking out random things I said to get her off my back and calling it 'diversionary tactics' or something. Plus, I almost called her Mom as Phantom. I swear, she played that back like, fifty times, trying to figure out what I'd said!"

"But she won't," Tucker said matter-of-factly. "Be optimistic, man!"

A blue swirl emitted from Danny's mouth as, simultaneously, screams arose from outside.

"Ghost time?" Sam asked dryly.

"Ghost time." Danny ducked under the table, changed in a flash (literally) and flew off.

"Can I have your fries?" Tucker yelled after him.

* * *

><p><strong>What I don't get is: How can this story possibly get so many reviews if its only like, three chapters long? And my collection of oneshots, which is like, ELEVEN chapters long, gets less? Why?<strong>


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: I have exciting news! So, for my birthday last year, I asked for this $20 ukulele (I already play the guitar). Anyway, I asked for one, and my dad was like, "No, it's too cheap looking." I was devastated. **

**Then, for the past six months, I kept begging and begging for one, and finally, finally, FINALLY, my dad got me one yesterday! It was around forty dollars, on sale from its regular price of sixty.**

**He bought it at around four, and then I played it until ten at night. So, about six hours. **

**And I'm already really good at it! I know about 15 chords! **

**Okay, bragging over.**

* * *

><p>Maddie pressed the rewind button for the millionth time, sighing in pure frustration. The audio rewinded, and she pressed play.<p>

"_You have to believe me, just look at the machine, Mo- uh, Maddie!" _Phantom's unearthly voice pleaded, echoing throughout the empty lab.

Maddie just couldn't figure it out. What was he about to say? She tried to think reasonably. Maybe he'd just stuttered. The ghost _had_looked pretty shocked.

Or... He could've been saying something else. Calling _her_ something else.

_Mo-,_ Maddie thought. _More. Mop. Mall. Mom. Money._

Wait- _Mom_.

Maddie bolted upright and hit the rewind button, and played the recording back.

_"…believe me, Mo-"_

Could Phantom have been saying _Mom_?

Maddie took a step back. This wasn't a logical explanation at all.

She wasn't his mom. He was a ghost! A ghost _kid_, though... A kid who might've been scared enough to call her Mom? Maybe she looked like his mom. Maddie pondered her new theory. He had told her that he'd died a year ago. But what about his mom? Was she alive, or dead?

Maddie needed more answers, and someone was going to tell her the truth, whether they like it or not.

* * *

><p>School had become an unexpected sanctum for Danny.<p>

Although there were plenty of teachers, tests and homework to worry him, his mom wasn't there, hovering over him with that infernal device and stressing him out.

Danny'd had enough stress in the past year alone. He really, really didn't need his mom to figure something out with that lie detector.

So Danny (literally and figuratively) flew to school in a flash, avoiding all contact with his parents. As far as he knew, his dad had no idea on what was going on. He still thought the Ghost-Translator was broken, because it thought Danny was lying. But Mom… Mom was smart.

Sitting in the back of Lancer's class, along with Sam and Tucker, Danny was feeling pretty stress-free. His mom hadn't mentioned one word to him about that recording this morning.

He played hangman with Tucker, as Sam took turns glancing at Lancer and then at them.

Life was good…

"GHOST!"

Well, as good as it could get, being him.

As his ghost sense went off, Skulker flew in through the ceiling, guns a-blazing.

Lancer took one look at Skulker, screamed, and then fainted. The class erupted, kids hollering and running around in panic.

Then, as if Danny's life couldn't get any worse, his mom, yelling like a samurai, burst into his class, guns (plus Ghost-Translator) also a-blazing.

"HI-YA!" She swung around, kicking Skulker in the face. Then, she brought out the Fenton Bazooka, and with one swift blast, had Skulker knocked out cold. She took out her Fenton Thermos, sucked Skulker in, and then blew the top of the thermos, smiling.

"Man, your mom is cool!" Tucker whispered.

"And has the lie-detector with her. Why does she even need it?" Sam asked.

Danny's mom turned, facing the class. She brought out a megaphone (Where she even kept that, Danny didn't want to know) and yelled, "EVERYBODY, QUIET DOWN!"

Miraculously, the class stopped in its tracks, turned to face Maddie, and sat down, silent.

"Now, I'm going to need to question each and every one of you. Okay?" She smiled innocently.

Danny slid lower and lower into his seat, hoping his mom wouldn't notice him.

"Hi, sweetie! You left your lunch at home!"

He was screwed.

* * *

><p><strong>The downside of playing the uke for six hours straight: My fingers hurt. Like. Hell. <strong>

**This happens when you press the strings down for too long. The pads of my fingers are going to get blisters soon, and then calluses. **

**But it hurts D: It hurts so much to type, but I am anyway... That's dedication.**

**You should review, for my aching fingers.**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Back from vacation, but I have a terrible cold D:**

* * *

><p>Mr. Lancer's class was usually more boring than Danny's dad's lectures. Lancer would drone on and on about some classic book while his students slept, played hangman, or (although this was rare) took notes.<p>

Lancer's class _never_ had Skulker expertly tied up in a corner, Maddie Fenton questioning the students, Lancer himself out cold, and Danny feeling more helpless than ever. Well, he normally felt helpless in class, especially during tests, because he usually never read the book.

This time, he couldn't ask to go to the bathroom as an escape route. At least, not with his mom watching his every move while simultaneously asking all the students about ghosts.

Instead, Danny, Sam and Tucker lined up behind all the other kids. There were a good 30 kids in Lancer's class, and the three were last.

"What're we gonna do?" Sam asked nervously.

Danny shrugged, that unsettling feeling of vulnerability creeping into him again. "What _can_ we do?"

At this rate, his mom was going to figure out his secret, and then proceed to kill him without giving him a chance to explain.

Danny glanced at the front of the line, where Maddie had created a makeshift interview table. Basically, she'd grabbed a desk, which held the lie detector and stood between her and Dash.

"Dash, could you please tell me any recent times when you've had contact with Phantom?" she asked.

Danny rolled his eyes as Dash honestly confessed his (totally heterosexual) love for Phantom. "He's a town hero!" Dash declared passionately.

As Maddie grilled the students one by one, the line grew shorter, and the trio grew more desperate.

"Maybe we could pretend to be sick, and then she'll let us go?" Sam said.

Danny shook his head. "She's got the lie detector."

Tucker suddenly looked up and reached into his pocket, pulling out his PDA. "Hey, Danny. I think I've got a plan!"

Danny and Sam looked at him eagerly.

"She's got a lie detector! That's _technology_. Give me 20 minutes, tops, and I'll hack into the mainframe!"

"Tucker, you're a genius!" Danny exclaimed. "Wait- why didn't you think of this earlier?"

"Have you _seen_ his grades?" Sam answered dryly. "I'm surprised he came up with a plan at all!"

* * *

><p>Almost one hour of interviewing students, and Maddie hadn't gotten even one valuable piece of information.<p>

Most of them worshipped Phantom and claimed he could do no wrong. Only one girl, Valerie, had told Maddie something very, very different. Similar to Maddie, Valerie believed that Phantom was the spawn of evil and had no consciousness. However, Valerie had a deep hatred for Phantom which Maddie didn't quite match.

Maddie liked to think that she was taking the scientific route- trying to add to her research on ghosts, and Phantom was just another test subject. Even though all her information and evidence made absolutely no sense, she _was_ going to figure everything out.

Maddie sighed, but then cheered up at the next kid in line, whom she recognized.

"Hi, Sam!" Maddie exclaimed cheerily.

Sam was with Danny and Tucker, who were the last two in line. She gave a desperate glance to Tucker, who was fiddling with his PDA, and then back to Maddie.

Maddie watched as Sam approached her, dressed in her usual morbid clothing. "Hey, Mrs. Fenton. Can we just get this over with?" She sat down, eyeing the lie detector cautiously.

Maddie patted the machine, noticing Sam's wariness. "This is the Ghost-Translator," she explained. "It tells me whether a ghost is lying or not, but it works on humans as well!"

Sam just stared at her blankly. "Okay... So what do you need to ask me then?"

"Do you know who Danny Phantom is?"

Sam nodded. "Of course. Doesn't everyone?"

Maddie didn't have to look at the detector for her reply. It was true that almost the whole town had seen or at least heard about Phantom.

Maddie continued to the next question. "Have you ever come to contact with Phantom?"

Sam clenched her teeth. "Yes," she said tersely.

The answer was true, but that was a surprising reaction, Maddie noted. Most girls (except Valerie) swooned over Phantom. Maybe Sam hated Phantom as well?

"How have you come in contact with Phantom?"

Sam seemed to be thinking about the question. Finally, she answered, "I was going to school one day and I saw him flying overhead."

Maddie glanced at the lie detector, which was all green. "No other times?"

Sam gave a noncommittal shake of her head. Maddie took that as a no, and let her leave, seeing how irritated Sam seemed at the moment.

The next student came up. Maddie beamed at the sight, smiling truly for the first time all day. "Danny!"

* * *

><p><strong>MWAHAHA! Maddie's gonna interview Danny again! Will he make another mistake? Will secrets be spilled? Will Maddie piece the puzzle together? Will Jack finally find out that his wife has been chasing a ghost for the past week? All will be revealed whenever I find time to update again... <strong>

**Which may take a while... **


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Oh, hi there! Sorry for the delay. I was... busy?**

* * *

><p><em><strong>Previously on Nothing but the Truth: <strong>The next student came up. Maddie beamed at the sight, smiling truly for the first time all day. "Danny!"_

"Oh, hi, Mom!" Danny said loudly. A false grin was plastered on his face in an attempt to hide his panic.

Tucker had just told him that he couldn't break through the lie detector, something about "firewalls". Basically, it meant that he was on his own.

Danny turned to look back and Sam and Tucker, who both smiled apologetically.

"Danny? You ready?" Maddie asked.

Danny whipped his head back to his mom. "What? No, I'm fine. I mean, yeah. I'm ready." He sat down and tried not to tap his foot. It was something he did when he was nervous, and his mom unfortunately knew that.

"Okay… Let's get started then!" Maddie tapped the lie detector. "You already know what this is."

Danny nodded.

"First question: Have you ever come in contact with ghosts? Actually, don't answer that." Maddie smiled. "Of course you have, with two ghost hunters for parents!"

"Yeah… Remember that DALV thing with Vlad? There were tons of ghosts there," Danny agreed hastily.

"Next, Danny Phantom."

"W-What about Danny Phantom?" he replied cautiously.

"Have you ever met him?"

Danny hesitated before answering. He had to think of situations that were true, that would make sense, and that the lie detector wouldn't deny. "Yes." He tensed, gauging his mother's reaction.

She merely glanced at the Ghost-Translator, which showed a green line. "When?" she asked interestedly.

"Remember that time some ghost turned our whole house into a machine? I met him then. He saved us."

Maddie frowned at that last statement, but accepted his answer and moved on. "Do you like Danny Phantom?"

"Yeah. Who wouldn't?"

"You don't think he's evil?"

"No," Danny said firmly, shaking his head. "Check your lie detector, Mom. Danny Phantom is a hero. He _helps_ us. He's saved the city like a billion times!"

Maddie pursed her lips. "Danny-"

He cut her off. He needed her to understand. "No, Mom. Why can't you see that he's not evil? Jazz has tried to tell you, hasn't she? Even Phantom told you at the park that all those things you blame him for weren't his fault, but you didn't _believe_ him, why-" He stopped abruptly, and couldn't believe the words that had just come out of his mouth.

Maddie's eyes widened, and she checked the lie detector. All green. "Danny? Do you _talk_ to Phantom?"

"No?"

The Ghost-Translator showed a red line. "You do, don't you?" Her eyes flashed furiously. "Has he been brainwashing you with his lies?"

She didn't give Danny a chance to respond.

"I knew it! Where have you meeting him? And _why_ have you been meeting him?"

Danny just shook his head, and tried not to dig himself any deeper.

"Tell me the truth, Danny."


End file.
